Knitting: Relaxation Or Vexation?

In January 2009, I began knitting a scarf for my mother-in-law's birthday present . But very soon I HATED it! Just the thought of working on that scarf for even one stitch was ick. So, I put it away. But it stared at me every time I sat down to do something else. I felt like I couldn't knit anything else, either! So yesterday I bit the bullet and sat down and spent the WHOLE day working on this scarf, and I finished it- YAY!


About a year ago I purchased yarn to make myself a shawl or stole. And it sat. And sat. I poured over books and patterns on Ravelry. I changed my mind every day- sometimes every hour! Knitting is a big commitment, you know? Each little stitch has to be done by hand. So if you don't like it, you are seriously screwed (see above!). Did I want a triangle or a rectangle? Did I want it solid or lacy? Did I want a simple or complicated lace pattern if I went with lacy? Oh, yeah. I really made this decision a LOT harder than it needed to be!


I finally decided!! It's going to be a rectangle stole, made with a very simple lace stitch called "Irish Net". I am LOVING it so far, and it's going super fast, even though I cast on 180 stitches. I started it yesterday evening and it's already this big :) The yarn is a lightweight 100% superwash wool sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts called "Bella Coola".

I've also been plugging away at January bee blocks, and I'm getting started on my DQS8 mini :) And I joined another swap (yes, I am insane, thank you for noticing) called the Pillow Talk Swap. In this swap we make a throw pillow for our partner. And partners are secret, like DQS8, so I won't know who is making a pillow for me until I get it :)

Lastly: Pepsi has brought back the Pepsi Throwback, made with real sugar! This stuff is like 57,000 times better tasting than the stuff made with high fructose corn syrup. I've been stocking up since it's only out for a limited time. Normally I'm a Coke girl. If only they'd do a real sugar version!